Odyssey or Acadia?

Instead of Odyssey or the Iliad...Family expansion requires a larger car than the current Subaru wagon, and we have narrowed it down to the Honda Odyssey or the Saturn Outlook/GMC Acadia. Probably '07 for either one- we'll be buying used. I know that the Oddity gets the GRM mini-van seal of approval, and is the coolest one on the market. The minor amount of ego I have left would like to resist having a mini-vain, thus the Outlook/Acadia option. I'd probably do the AWD on the Acadia to increase the ego quotient. Will be wife's DD, thus no mods.

3+ kids and dog, road trips, some minor towing capacity needed.

Opinions? Thoughts? Experience with either?

Wouldn't the best option be to have the wife drive both and pick the one she likes?

Personally, I think the resistance to minivans is lame. They are a tool, and for situations like these, the right one for the job. Maybe I'm spoiled with my 5, though.

I really liked the Odyssey. I ended up in an MPV because it was $10k less than the comparable Odyssey (new vs. new back in '05) Odyssey has a strong engine, nice carlike ride, and lots of interior space.

I have no experience with the Acadia, but I would expect it to ride like a truck and suffer from various ergonomic maladies.

P.S.: If you've narrowed it down to just two vehicles and the wife will be driving it, let the wife choose!

As a GM product specialist (god I hate my title) I have to say the Acaida is all the family hauler any sane person could ever want, the 2nd row is a little odd to use but makes insanely good sense after you get used to it. The A/C will freeze you out the base sound system is more than enough. Avoid the nav system its complicated and with the OnStar Directions & Connections package you have no real need for it. The most common question:

Q: Should I bother with the OnStar after my first year?

A: YES its like $20/month the Acadia/Enclave nav system adds over $3000 if for nothing else

+1 for GMC - my terrain is da bom y0!

In all seriousness, I love our GMC, mine is a 2010, so it may not be apples to apples, but Id say they have been on the right track for a while now. They have great interior fit and finish, and get good reviews mechanically as well. AWD is better in the snow than the 1 wheel drive a minivan will have (although Im not too sure what the snowfall avg is in South Carolina - maybe I should say AWD is better in wet leaves?<)

Also, +145645 for onstar - the turn by turn system in pretty sweet, and its unlocked my doors more than once! Our 07 saturn had it and my wife also used the handsfree calling all the time.

I have a co-worker who has an Acadia and it's pretty nice. Having only ridden in it (not driven it) I didn't think that it felt as "quality" as the Odyssey (which I've ridden in many times). Just didn't feel as solid, if that makes any sense, especially in bumps. The interior was nice, and everything was functional and located where it should be. I can't say I like the exterior styling much though.

In SoCal I doubt you need AWD anyhow.

My wife REALLY liked the Sequoia when we were looking at vacation haulers, but it would have been a super-tight fit in our garage and we didn't need something so big, so we just got a 4Runner with a Yakima roof box :)

Acadia probably best bang for the buck though.

For minivans, how aobut the Voyager/Caravan? My parents have had several and all of them have been super-reliable and excellent, if not terribly exciting. Probably cheaper than an Odyssey.

Sequoia could keep the ego, but still have the Toyota build, perhaps? And its "classy" enough for the wifey to like it.

Odyssey.

7 years 70k miles, 2 kids and a dog.Does what we need it to do. Somewhat anonymous styling,reliable,decent on gas,comfortable.

Make sure you get the "OBX" sticker for the rear window...it's like stealth technology.

Ody +1 109k reg scheduled maint. only. Still looks/drives like new. Keep thinking I should downsize it, but it keeps coming in awful handy.

I appreciate the replies- still trying to decide after coming back from test driving them back to back. Yes, with the wife. yes, she is part of the decision making process, however we both like both cars for various reasons, thus my solicitation of opinions here, which are great (and she is listening to as well).

Our average snowfall here in Charleston, SC is a massive 5" per 10 years, so snow performance isn't my major concern, but our average rainfall is about 6" every other day sometimes, so that is where AWD in the Suby (current ride) comes in handy.

Thought about the Sequoia and test drove a good friend's, but we think that will be too big. Won't fit in the garage, although we could fit four adults and four kids in car seats+associated beach stuff without an issue.

As far as driving, they both handle fairly well. They are both car based, and both seem fairly similar from a large car handling perspective. Maybe a slight edge to the Odyssey, but it is minor on the short loop we took them on, so it is hard to tell. Oddity is slightly bigger, Acadia is slightly higher.

Any other thoughts or opinions? Keep 'em coming, they're helpful.

ReverendDexter wrote: Personally, I think the resistance to minivans is lame. They are a tool, and for situations like these, the right one for the job. Maybe I'm spoiled with my 5, though.

Reverend- if you've got five minivans, that's not a tool, it's a fetish! Yep, they're damn useful, and I like the Odyssey too. Think of this as more of an E30 vs. FC RX7 argument. Both do the same thing fairly well, but in a slightly different manner.

JFX001 said: Make sure you get the "OBX" sticker for the rear window...it's like stealth technology

I wonder if the local palmetto and gorget confers the same stealth capabilities- I'll have to take a survey.

Unless you are on a dirt road, I have never seen rain so bad as to make AWD preferable to FWD. At least to the point of taking the MPG hit.

As far as the awsomeness of mini vans, I'm only engaged/no kids and I'm looking at a mini van for my next DD. Probably going to buy my sisters '02 windstar if she replaces it after tax returns next year.

Hahaha - no, I meant Mazda5, not 5 minivans, lol

Datsun1500 wrote: Get a gray odyssey, they are invisible to cops. I swear you can go by one at 90 mph and it's like you are not there... 07 with 62K, no issues so far. I guess the big question is do you like sliding doors on the side, or regular ones?

Power sliding doors rock! It was never a feature I had any interest in, but it was on my wife's "must have" list. Now, having gotten used to them, I love them. They're great when you're trying to get the kids in the vehicle in a busy parking lot or anywhere else. You can use the remote to open the door as you are approaching the vehicle. No worries if someone has parked very close, as the door will open fully with just a few inches clearance between your vehicle and the knucklehead that parked right on top of you. A wonderful convenience!

ReverendDexter wrote: Hahaha - no, I meant Mazda5, not 5 minivans, lol

Ha- that makes more sense. 5 minivans, that's a fleet. Mazda 5, cool ride, just not big enough for the impending developments.

We're still debating, but we're getting closer to making a decision...we may have to flip a coin at the rate we're going, though.

Thanks all for the input.

'06 Odyssey....57k, no problems other than a power steering pump that made some noise almost immediately after bringing it home. Replaced under warranty and it's been great since.

I look at minivans as expensive appliances. The Odyssey does everything we need it do do, gas mileage is pretty good and it drives nicely. Plenty of room for our three kids and our stuff, is reasonably quick when it needs to be and was reasonably priced for what we got with it. Most important, the wifey loves it.

That being said, get an Odyssey.

My 99 Odyssey gave up the ghost last December. 220,000 miles. I would have expected it to last a little longer, but my wife was the primary driver and she can put a serious hurting on any vehicle.

I love me some Odysseys..

I am against buying minivan-like, minivan-based crossovers because buying them legitimizes the idea that taking a minivan and making it slightly less functional so you can change the styling and doors and call it a crossover is a good idea. I think its a BAD idea. I think what would be a GOOD idea is for everyone who hates minivan to get OFF the bandwagon and get over it. They're amazing vehicles.

Hahaha - no, I meant Mazda5, not 5 minivans, lol

Damn, i thought i was going to find a like-minded weirdo.. i think ive had 4 minivans at a time at one point. Right now i have 2.

I like both, but personally wouldn't buy anything from Government Motors.

I like to have 4wd....especially with the type of towing I'd use it for. We do a lot of camping and I'm normally pulling a trailer with dirtbikes. I've had to use my Suburban's 4x4 more than a few times to get to and back from where we wanted to go.

Also, I've ridden in both of those recently and I liked the Acadia better.

bravenrace wrote: I like both, but personally wouldn't buy anything from Government Motors.

Why not, You could be like the remington guy and tell people you like it so much you bought the company

I didn't have a choice about buying the company. Come to think of it, neither did you, partner. But the real tragedy is that we paid too much. Definitely not grassroots!

The Acadia tows 5,200 lbs, which, to me, would make the difference. I have an 1,800 lb trailer and a (soon-to-be) Spec Miata, which can be towed behind an Acadia, but not an Odyssey (capacity 3,500 lbs).

I agree that the Odyssey is the coolest of the current minivans. I like the specs of the Mazda 5, but agree that it's more of an in-between size. The 4-cylinder Sienna had me excited, but gas mileage doesn't look to be much better than the 6-shooter version.

Did they get the automatic transmissions figured out on the Odysseys? Seems like there were a lot of failures there for a while, but I haven't heard much about the 2005 and newer models.

I'm not sure where pricing is on either unit these days, but I'm willing to wager the Odyssey will hold its value better than the Acadia unless you can get a screaming deal on a GM vehicle (which may be the case).

Comparing the two, I'd give the nod to the Odyssey assuming the transmission issues have been worked out by now.

1988RedT2 wrote: Power sliding doors rock! It was never a feature I had any interest in, but it was on my wife's "must have" list. Now, having gotten used to them, I love them.

They are great until they break - may not be a concern if you are only keeping it a couple of years, but my folks 99 oddy, has something a miss with them, only the driver can operate them (door handles don't work) and the driver control only override must be on to silence the beeping. I think it's sensor related - but I don't work on other peoples cars, so it remains as it is.

cliff95 wrote:

1988RedT2 wrote: Power sliding doors rock! It was never a feature I had any interest in, but it was on my wife's "must have" list. Now, having gotten used to them, I love them.

They are great until they break - may not be a concern if you are only keeping it a couple of years, but my folks 99 oddy, has something a miss with them, only the driver can operate them (door handles don't work) and the driver control only override must be on to silence the beeping. I think it's sensor related - but I don't work on other peoples cars, so it remains as it is.

I hear ya. Like I said, not something I was looking for. Blame it on the wife. That said, they've been perfect for 5 years, 65k miles.